


Chance Encounters

by bitsori



Series: Beautiful Feeling [2]
Category: Day6 (Band), TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, F/M, Meet-Cute, Trains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-18 23:18:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16128755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: The thing is this: Jihyo refers to him in her thoughts as Guy On Train, but the first time she sees him is actually at work. Sort of.or: Four times Jihyo runs into Sungjin on the train to work, and then some; AU





	Chance Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> [ 1 ] This is far from my favorite thing that I wrote but I really like this ship lol, so I’m putting it out there anyway.
> 
> [ 2 ] My new goal is to slowly write Every DAY6 Member/Girls even if few people (if anyone at all, lbr) are going to read it. So— if you’re reading this, thank you for giving it a chance!

  
  


000.

The thing is this: Jihyo refers to him in her thoughts as Guy On Train, but the first time she sees him is actually at work. Sort of.

It was her first day and her entire morning so far had been a comedy of errors. She had just graduated from university a mere week ago and it was her  _ first job ever _ so she’d barely been able to sleep the night before thanks to being mostly a bundle of nerves. So when her alarm had rung she’d slept right through it; if it hadn’t been for one of her younger sisters banging at her door, she probably would have remained in deep slumber where she’d been dreaming she was back in  _ high school _ and her future was looking bright and way, way  _ ahead _ of her. 

In her hurry, she’d worn the wrong pair of shoes, realising her mistake only when she was already a block away from home, prompting her to run back and change; when she’d dropped by the nearby Starbucks to get some caffeine into her system, the queue was so long and the baristas were working at a snail’s pace and by the time she misses her train she can only  _ swear. _

In the end, she’d flagged a taxi down, and well— that was the worst decision she made that morning because Seoul traffic is a nightmare, and the cab driver kept yelling at everything like he needed major anger management training.

So, yeah. It wasn’t exactly the best morning the first time she saw Guy On Train - except at the time, he had presented himself as Guy Inside The Elevator.

Jihyo had rushed into the building (after a little mishap with her brand new ID as she tried to swipe it past the entrance - and  _ seriously _ could that morning have been any worse? But she’s lucky the guard had taken pity on her - she must have look  _ that _ frazzled - and just let her through) just as the elevator doors were closing. She had waved her arms frantically, trying to call the attention of the passengers inside, but most of them had either looked away or flat out pretended not to notice her. Except him - he, with the casual smile and the sparkling eyes, had immediately shot his hand out to hold the door open.

“Thank you—,” Jihyo had uttered the moment she’d stepped inside the elevator, but she’d been too preoccupied with trying to catch her breath that she hadn’t been able to say much else before she was realizing that the elevator had stopped at her floor and she needed to get off.

  
  
  


 

 

001.

When Jihyo starts to settle into a comfortable morning routine that allows her to arrive just in time for the start of her work shift, she sees him again.

She doesn’t notice him at first; she’s leaning against one of the metal poles inside the train car, focusing mostly on her phone (her Kakao group chat with her old university friends is blowing up, because with Mina’s birthday coming up everyone is trying to sync schedules so they can celebrate together), but then a rush of people get on at Sadang station and Jihyo remembers to pay attention to her surroundings.

That’s when she spots him, gently but firmly, talking to a boy clad in the uniform for a high school that she knows is located just walking distance from the next station. He’s asking him - and at this point she notices his accent, which she finds amusing - to get up and let a nearby old woman take his seat instead. The boy actually looks quite annoyed, but Guy On Train (and this is when she dubs him  _ Guy On Train _ ) stares him down, and soon the kid is grudgingly getting up while Guy On Train, with a smile, helps the old lady sit down.

_ Cute, _ Jihyo thinks.  _ What a genuinely nice and dependable guy. _

  
  


( Once, she runs across him during lunch break, at a diner close to work. 

She’s with Nayeon and Jungyeon and they’re both being picky about what to order. Jihyo is just standing back, content with her salad that she’d prepared from home - she’s just being a good friend and accompanying her fellow newbie assistants. 

And then she hears a group, seated at a table by a corner, erupt into laughter and when she glances at their direction, she sees him - Guy On Train, in the flesh, except Guy In Diner now - at the center of the group, animatedly talking about something or other. Obviously a topic amusing enough that everyone around him is thoroughly entertained. A smile finds its way on Jihyo’s lips - by now she’s caught the same train as him more than a handful of times, and most days he’s always doing something eye catching. Like the other day she’d noticed him help a pregnant lady when she got off her stop by making sure the crowd made way for her; and there was that one time she watched him make silly faces at a baby so they would stop crying. Little things, really.  _ Little heroics, _ Jihyo calls them in her mind. But before she completely gets lost in the little montage movie she’s playing in her head, Nayeon snaps her fingers and pulls her back to reality.

“What are you looking at?” Jungyeon asks, and Jihyo is quick to divert her gaze - but it’s too late anyway, because her friends erupt into giggles as soon as they figure out what she’s looking at.  _ What is this, _ Jihyo thinks,  _ high school? _ And maybe she had been dreaming of simpler times of teenagedom just recently, but this isn’t a part of it.

“You know him?” Nayeon chirps in, and it’s obvious she means Guy On Train.

“Uh,” she ducks her head because despite her mental reservations at the way her friends are acting, she has trouble holding back her own giggling. “No,” she tries to deny. A pause, a beat, and then— “Okay, maybe he’s cute.”

And if Guy On Train had looked up to glance her way when Nayeon and Jungyeon both resort to squealing at her admission, Jihyo doesn’t notice because she’s already hurrying out the door in embarrassment. )

  
  
  
  


 

 

002.

It’s an early evening when when Jihyo finds herself on the receiving end of one of Guy In Train’s small heroic deeds. Nayeon had invited her to dinner, but she had declined, just wanting to go home and get some rest after a long day - bad move on her part, perhaps, as she gets caught in the middle of rush hour.

The train is crowded - more crowded than she’s used to - and she ends up standing close to  some middle aged guy who reeks of body odour. Jihyo winces, having a hard time holding her breath partly because the man doesn’t only stink but he’s  _ pushing _ against her, so much so that Jihyo can only assume he’s doing it on purpose.

She tries to move and shift, using her arms to hold her purse close against her chest - a form of protection on her part. She closes her eyes and starts to count the number of stations left until she gets off, only to be interrupted when she feels a hand graze against her thigh, near the hem of her skirt. Her big eyes fly open in trepidation, and her first instinct is to  _ scream _ except nothing comes out.

And then, somehow, someone bumps against the man causing him to lose balance. Jihyo exhales quietly, but then someone else moves to stand in front of her. She initially panics again, but when she glances up she finds that it’s  _ him _ \- Mr. Guy On Train. She feels relief wash over her, and she immediately relaxes - funny how he has that effect on her and she doesn’t even know his name.

He smiles at her, his eyes literally  _ sparkling _ as if he’s silently telling her that it’s okay. Jihyo opens her mouth to thank him, but then that pervert speaks up firs. 

“Hey, you’re fucking rude!” He snarls at Guy On Train, and Jihyo frowns. 

She really wants to speak up, but Guy On Train just turns his head to face the other man, donning a tight smile on his lips. “And you don’t know how to respect women, sir.” His accent cuts through his words, but still, he sounds scarily calm. And then he turns to face Jihyo once more, his smile more relaxed. 

The pervert-who-would-have-felt-her-up is grumbling to himself, but he does step away from them, and when they roll up to the next station, Jihyo can’t help but notice how quick he is to scramble off the train while everyone eyes him with disdain and judgment.

“Thanks,” she finally mumbles, still a bit too shaken for anything more generous. Guy On Train just nods, and sticks close to her without actually touching her.

  
  


( The next time they catch each other on the same train, he actually smiles  _ at _ her before walking up to her. They don’t talk, but they stand  _ so close _ to each other that she can practically hear the faint sounds of music coming off his ear pods. She only has to inhale and she’s automatically able to catch his scent - he smells like cologne and soap and faint sweat all mixed together, except it’s  _ nice _ \- and generally, she thinks, just having him around is nice. )

  
  
  
  


 

 

003.

One day, he turns up with a shaved head and Jihyo is so surprised that as soon as he grabs the handlebar next to hers, she can’t help but make a comment. 

“Nice hair,” she says, and this is probably the first words she’s ever said to him ever since that one time when she’d shakenly muttered ‘Thanks,’ to him.

If he’s taken aback by her retort, he doesn’t show it. He laughs and reaches up to rub the top of his head, and Jihyo watches, fascinated, while wishing she could reach up and do the same. 

“Is it?” He asks, and it takes Jihyo a moment to realise that this is going to turn into an  _ actual conversation _ .

_ It’s cute— _ she almost says, but she’s able to save her dignity by biting her tongue on that. “It’s okay,” is what she says instead. “Why the change? Are you—,” her breath hitches, and she feels a moment of panic. “Are you enlisting soon?” She doesn’t know why she’s affected by the thought, but the notion of him not riding the same train as her is making her feel some type of way. 

“Oh, no—” He laughs, and he’s  _ still _ rubbing his head and there’s a growing frustration at the pit of Jihyo’s stomach that she can’t do the same. “I finished my service years ago,” he goes on to explain. “I just wanted to have low maintenance hair, and my time in the reserve corps proved to me that this is the most efficient hair style.” 

Jihyo laughs; she’s relieved and suddenly in a much chipper mood. “It does look easy to style,” she teases, and Guy On Train just chuckles.

  
  


( She spots him again at the same diner, and this time they nod and wave at each other. She’s only accompanied by Nayeon who immediately comments, “The guy with him is cute, can you ask your…  _ man thing _ for his name?”

“M-my what?!” Jihyo almost spits her drink out at Nayeon’s words. “He is no such thing!”

“Whatever,” Nayeon waves her hand dismissively. “His friend’s name would be nice.”

Jihyo groans. “I don’t even know  _ his _ name,” she mumbles, annoyed. )

  
  
  
  


 

 

004.

They get stuck at the train station because there’s some sort of mishap on the tracks - Jihyo isn’t sure what exactly, but there are way too many people even for rush hour.

“Crap,” she mumbles to herself, not really wanting to brave the mob. 

“Do you want to grab a bite to eat while this crowd disperses?” Someone suddenly pipes up from beside her, and she doesn’t have to turn and look to know who it is because she easily recognizes that voice and accent.

The first thing she thinks about is her diet, but in the end her curiosity (and her blatant, obvious crush) gets the better of her and she nods in agreement. He walks her to a cluster of food stalls just half a block away from the station and  _ oh dear God _ , she thinks, _ it’s the worst food for my diet _ but everything he orders looks so good that she ends up asking for all the same things.

She tries to be demure while eating, but stress and hunger take over and soon she’s scarfing down food. He looks amused, but he doesn’t comment much. Instead they have a good talk about anything and everything - like she learns about how he likes his coffee (iced mocha, but not too much ice), and how many soju bottles is his limit (none, because he’s yet to discover said limit). They talk about so many things and she has such a good time that they don’t try to go home until right before the last scheduled train leaves.

It’s not until she gets off at her station that she realises she  _ still _ hasn’t asked his name.

  
  


( It’s gotten to the point where they’re at least good acquaintances, always making small talk when they see each other - which is why it makes it so awkward that she still doesn’t know what to call him. So Jihyo makes up her mind that it’s time to finally ask for his name, and the next time she sees him walking out of their shared work building, she immediately walks up to him with every intention of doing so. Except before she can say anything, his entire face lights up and he beats her to speaking.

“Do you want to go out for dinner?” He asks, to which Jihyo blinks in confusion. 

“Uh—”  _ Was he asking her out on a date? _

“Yes? No?” He’s smiling even though Jihyo is so visibly disoriented. “I’d like it if you said yes.”

“Y-you—”  _ He likes me, _ she thinks, her big eyes only getting even bigger. “I—”

He laughs, clearly amused by her state of bewilderment.

“Well.” She huffs. “Maybe before that, you could be generous enough and tell me your name because I don’t want to date someone just called Guy On Train, you know.”

“Oh, is it going to be a date?” He asks, amused, and his damn eyes are  _ shining _ and she doesn’t even know his name yet she’s already so weak for them.

But then his words register with her, and, “Wait, weren’t you asking me out?!” She’s so embarrassed now and she can feel all the blood rushing to her cheeks.

“Heh.” He grunts, and the way he smiles, one corner of his mouth turning up higher than the other end like he’s smirking but not, makes her really giddy. “I’m Park Sungjin.”

“Oh.” She repeats his name in her head -  _ Sungjin. Park Sungjin. Sungjin-oppa -  _ and her smile only grows. “I’m Park Jihyo.”

“Nice to meet you, Park Jihyo.” Sungjin grins, and once again he rubs the top of his head. “So do I get to take you on that date now?” )

  
  
  
  
  


 

 

 

_ fin. _


End file.
